Just got my engine back in my car. Set the initial timing at 16 degrees and fired it up. Has a rough idle but I attribute it to the cam. Other than rough idle engine appears to run fine. No stumble and good throttle response. Rev it up to about 2500 and hold it for about 15 minutes then take it for a short test drive. Runs pretty good. Hear a slight lifter tick so need to make some fine adjustments to the rockers. Then car just dies. Put it in neutral and try to start it. Very hard to turn over but starts and sputters down the road and back in my garage. I pull the oil filler cap off and notice frothy oil and condensation in the tube. But dip stick is clean. Just oil. Pull the left valve cover off to take a look and it's clean. Just oil. Pulled one plug out to look for rust or any signs of water. Looks clean. Wondering if I'm getting water in the combustion chambers and that's what is causing it to shut off and hard to turn over.

Engine sat in the car for almost two months in the cold before I got it started. Could it just be condensation from sitting so long?

Or maybe it's a build up of combustion gases in the crankcase? Not using a PCV valve as my aftermarket GM Oldsmobile aluminum valve covers are not drilled for any PCV or other vent. Put a vent type breather cap on the oil filler tube in an attempt to vent the engine. Maybe that's it? I'm going to go ahead and drill out a hole for a PCV valve and put one in.

Any thoughts?

 

You can try setting the initial timing at 12 degrees, but the froth sounds like a blown head gasket.

 

Yeah it does. But the oil is only frothing in the filler tube. No sign of it on the dipstick. Also doesn't look like there's any water in the pan. Wonder if it might be the intake gasket.

Would the timing make the engine hard to turn over when it's hot? Or make it just shut off? Dont think it's over heating. Only have a dummy light but it works and isn't coming on. I have a thermal radiator cap and it's only showing the coolant to be in the 150 range. Thermostat is opening because upper hose is getting hot.

Really hoping to not have to tear into that engine again.

 

Defeinitely need a ventilation system.If you can put a breather in each valve cover,and possibly plumb one to the back of the intake plenum,that seems to work good.
Take some initial timing out of it.The focus point should be the total timing,and it should be completely advanced by 3,000rpm.
The ticking could be a valvetrain noise,or it could be a leaking header gasket,as I have heard them sound like that.
If you DO have water in the oil,and you pull the drain plug,the water will come out first,so checking the dipstick is not always a good way to check for water in the oil,but most of the time it will show something.
Since it didn't run very hot,or at least it doesn't appear so,I wouldn't suspect any bearing issues.

 

i'd connect all the factory emission stuff, change the oil, fire it up and look at the timing. if it still runs bad and you get the frothy oil up the fill tube somethings wrong. maybe wont see indications of "froth" on the oil level indicator(dip-stick), because that stailess steel tube it fits into extends inside the oil pan quite a ways down. one time while removing the distrb. from my 350 olds. engine that hex shaft that goes to the oil pump fell into the oil pan, man that sucked.

 

Well, hooked up the timing light, unhooked and plugged the vacuum advance, started it up and went to adjust the timing and electricuted myself when I grabbed the distributor to turn it. Got some serious arching. Might explain a few things.

Do plan to hook up all the vents and pcv. Really don't want to drill those valve covers but gotta do what I gotta do. Also plan to drain the oil and take a look at it. Please, please, please, no water!

 

maybe you could use some stock ones in their place to see if everything else is ok. hope things go well

 

If this a fresh rebuild you may have a bit of blowby until the rings seat. You would have a little smoke coming from the breather that smells like burnt oil. As 507olds states set your timing with vacuum advance disconnected all in at 3000 - 3400 rpm (32-35 deg's btc). Then hook your vacuum advance back, your timing with vacuum advance will bring in somewhere between 12-15 deg'e more btc for a total around 50 btc @ 3-4000 rpm.

 

Don't think the stock ones will cover the rockers. Gonna give it a look though. Thanks.

 

Is a fresh build but not noticing any blowby. I know I need to advance my timing some. But would that make it hard to turn over when it's warmed up?

 

[quote=philnjean;260412]Well, hooked up the timing light, unhooked and plugged the vacuum advance, started it up and went to adjust the timing and electricuted myself when I grabbed the distributor to turn it. Got some serious arching. Might explain a few things.

I have almost 2 year old MSD wires on mine. Same thing. Grab the distributor and "ZAP". I had to laugh when I read your post. I know exactly how that feels. I will be replacing mine with something different soon. Anybody have any suggestions on this?

 

[QUOTE=ziff396;260447]I have new wires on it and thought I just got a hold of some garbage wires. But after looking around noticed that the engine ground wire broke. Would explain my engine's attempt to electrocute me and also explain why it shut off. Going to fix it, drill out a pcv hole in my valve cover, tighten up the no. 1 rocker a tad bit, start it up and set the timing and see what happens.

While all of this was going on my radiator decided to spring a leak, so gotta replace that. Big fun.

 

OK...so got it running. Then quit. No spark when cranking. Put a plug in the coil lead to the distributor and cranked it. No spark. Checked the voltage to the coil with the ignition in the run position. 12v. 12v to the distributor in the run position. Changed out the coil. Still no spark. Still getting 12v to the coil.

A little background. Put in a ACCEL electronic distributor. One wire goes to a 12v source with the ignition in the run position...I ran that from the starter. One goes to the positive on the coil. The other goes to the negative on the coil.

There is an original wire on the coil that I think goes to the ignition and if so I think it would be a resistor wire to kick voltage down to about 7 volts for the old points distributor. Not sure. But still getting 12v with the ignition in the run position and the car not running. And the car ran wired this way and then just stopped. Checked fuses but on this old car I don't think there is a main fuse or anything. Everything in the fuse box looks good.

Anyway not getting anything after the coil. Gotta be in the wiring, but I can't figure it out.

Thoughts?

 

What is the voltage at the coil and distributer when cranking? (Turning key to start) Is the voltage possibly going away then.

 

Pretty old ignition switch - check the voltage while cranking!

 

Is it possible that the oil had some water (condensation) and that came up the filler because that the the place of least resistance - given that you really don't have any other place that might allow a pressure differential.

 

Or you can just bypass everything and run 12v from the battery directly to distributor and coill and see if she cranks up.

 

I bet you guys have hit the nail on the head. Thanks.